Case Study: Redevelopment of HearHub Portal for The Shepherd Centre
Client Background
The Shepherd Centre is a leading for-purpose organisation that has been transforming the lives of children with hearing loss and their families for more than 50 years. With a mission to help children develop the skills to listen, speak, and fully participate in the world around them,
The Shepherd Centre delivers world-class early intervention programs grounded in research and proven results. Its holistic, family-centred approach empowers children to thrive in mainstream society, academically, socially and emotionally. At the heart of its innovation is HearHub, a digital platform designed for clinicians to monitor developmental progress, access specialised resources, and complete critical assessments – ensuring children around the world the tailored support they need to reach their full potential.
The Challenge
The original HearHub portal, built on Sitefinity, had grown outdated. While it had served its purpose in the past, the platform had become increasingly difficult to maintain and extend. As TSC’s needs evolved, so too did the necessity for a modern, scalable solution that could adapt with the organisation. The platform needed redevelopment to address performance issues, improve maintainability, and introduce enhanced integration capabilities particularly with Microsoft’s Dataverse, Coassemble, Power BI, and Azure.
Objectives
TSC approached DevOps Services, a trusted Microsoft Partner, with a vision to rebuild HearHub using modern technologies. Their key objectives were:
• Redevelop the existing HearHub portal using Angular and ASP.NET Core
• Leverage Dataverse for data storage and integration
• Implement a modular, extensible design to support future feature additions
• Improve user experience and accessibility for families and professionals
• Ensure seamless integration with Microsoft Single Sign-On, Coassemble LMS, and the existing Azure environment
• Build a foundation that enables continuous innovation across the platform
“This was an opportunity to reimagine how HearHub supports our families and clinicians, and professionals around the world. It needs to be a foundation for growth and innovation. We wanted a technology partner that could match our strategic vision with technical execution .”
Lee Clark, Director of Strategic Technology, Research & Professional Growth, The Shepherd Centre
Solution Delivered
DevOps Services conducted a detailed discovery and system analysis, assessing HearHub’s admin and client portals, its integration architecture, and the associated Power Platform environment.
Based on the findings, DevOps Services proposed a complete lift-and-shift rebuild of the HearHub portal with a clear division between API and UI layers. The solution was structured as:
• Frontend: Angular web application tailored for clinician and client roles
• Backend: ASP.NET Core Web API managing business logic and communication with Dataverse
• Hosting: Azure infrastructure configured to support security, scalability, and compliance requirements
• Authentication: Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for secure single sign-on
• Reporting: Integration with Power BI Embedded for visualising assessment outcomes
“We saw HearHub as a cloud-first, data-driven platform where clinicians and families could engage seamlessly. Designing for scale and speed was just as important as ensuring integration with TSC’s rich ecosystem of tools.”
Richard Angus, CTO, DevOps Services
Modern Engineering Practices
DevOps Services adopted a modular development approach, enabling TSC to add new features incrementally. The API and UI were built concurrently, using Agile delivery principles. Secure access, form validation, state management, and performance optimisations were embedded as standard practice.
“TSC’s vision aligned perfectly with our cloud-native engineering principles. From secure APIs to scalable pipelines, we approached every layer of HearHub with maintainability and future-readiness in mind.”
Roger Harwood, Director, DevOps Services
Impact
The redevelopment of HearHub significantly improved the platform’s usability, maintainability, and extensibility. Clinicians experienced faster data access, more intuitive workflows, and a consistent interface across modules. As well as this, deployment of updates went from 2 weeks to 2 hours. Further, HearHub is already achieving its roadmap of new features that will benefit professionals and families.
Technical Highlights
• Angular SPA (Single Page Application) with role-based controls
• ASP.NET Core APIs integrated with Microsoft Dataverse
• Embedded Power BI for data visualisation
• Azure-hosted solution with secure DevOps pipeline deployments
• Support for Not-for-Profit licensing, reducing operational costs
Client Testimonial
“The redevelopment of HearHub with DevOps Services has transformed how we support clinicians and families. Their team deeply understood our vision and delivered a scalable, intuitive solution aligned with modern cloud practices. The modular approach has enabled us to expand functionality as we grow.”
Lee Clark, Director of Strategic Technology, Research & Professional Growth, The Shepherd Centre